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1 Si'Ai.DiNc; Uki) (_()vku Skiuls of \ J ._. j 1 

— -' —^ I '^ Athi.itu Handuooks I ^ 

plj No. 8911 U"^ 

Learning to Play 
Field Hockey 



By 

EUSTACE E. WHITE 

London 



Including a Plan for the Organization of 
Field Hockey in Colleges and Schools by 

MARIE L. CARNS 

Physical Kilucatiou iJepartineiit, University of Wisconsin 



_J ZT] AMKRICAN SPORTS PUBLISHING CO. rz! Iz^i 
— ' *— ' — ^ 45 Rosi: SruEET. New Youk c — •"' i 

n n P - TIDI 

CopyriKlit. lifliU. by American Sports Publishing Company. New York 



CONTENTS ^ 



,v\i^' 



Chapter I ' page 
Ffrst Necessities . , . „ 1 1 

Chapter II 
A Few Eleinents of the Game , 15 

Chapter III 
Learning the Strokes , , 21 

Chapter IV 
Dribbh'ng, Stick- Work, Shooting 29 

Chapter V 
Positions in the Field . . , 37 

Chapter VI 
The Half-Back Line 47 

Chapter VII 
The Forward Line , . . 57 

Chapter VIII 
The Team and Its Tactics 67 

Chapter IX 
To Cure Your Faults 75 

A Plan for the Organization of Hockey , . , 84 

By Marie L. Cams 
Glossa ry 94, 

©C1A6035G4 
0£C -I 1920 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The First American Field Hockey Team to 
Visit Great Britain for International Compe- 
tition Frontispiece 

Correct Position and Attitude of Center-Half at 
the Bully 4 

Mr. Eustace E. White 8 

Ground Plan of Field Hockey lO 

Fielding with the Hand 20 

Passing from Left to Right by Means of the 
Reverse Stroke 27 

Driving — Follow Right Through and Turn the 
Hands Over at the Finish 28 

Dribbling — A Correct Example of the Art. 
Keeping the Ball Near the Sticks 35 

Half -Back Checking Forward by Means of Left- 
Hand Lunge 36 

Making the Push-Pass from Left to Right 45 

A Good Way for Center-Forward to Stop a Cor- 
ner Hit from the Right 4^ 

A "Foul"— Illegal Tackle 56 

An Effective Treatment of a Penalty Corner .... 66 

Position of Attacking Team for Rundown 74 



PUBLISHERS' NOTE 

Field Hockey is played in Great Britain by both men 
and women, but not in mixed teams, nor in mixed 
competition. In the United States its activities are 
confined principally to girls' colleges and schools. 
Nearly all of the American women's institutions of 
learning devote much time to the game. Interest in it 
is spreading to the high schools, when the latter have 
a sufficient playing area, either on the school ground 
or in parks. In Philadelphia, for instance, there is an 
organized league of clubs whose members learned field 
hockey at college and who keep up their interest in 
the game much as do the women of Great Britain in 
"county" and similar teams. 

In the milder climate of the British Isles it is possi- 
ble to play hockey from autumn until early summer. 
In the United States the playing period is confined 
principally to autumn, although it would be quite 
easy to hold a supplementary season in spring time. 
The Ladies^ Field of London, a weekly periodical, de- 
votes much space to Field Hockey in addition to the 
great variety of other subjects that specially interest 
women. It published recently a series of articles on 
learning to play field hockey, by Mr. Eustace E. White, 
sports editor. So thoroughly did these treat of the 
game that the publishers of Spalding's Athletic Library 
made arrangements with the author and Ladies' Field 
to reproduce them in book form for the benefit of field 
hockey players in the United States. 

After the first few chapters had appeared in Ladies' 
Field a famous international player and English cap- 



6 Spalding's Athletic Library 

tain wrote to the publishers expressing his appreciation 
of Mr. White's articles. He said: 

"I have been interested in your series of articles on 
Field Hockey. I think they should be of great help, 
as after the dearth of hockey articles during the war, 
players were much in need of instruction. The new 
generation now coming to the front has not had the 
help the older ones had of constant coaching and hints 
on play. The thing that strikes one most is their keen- 
ness and want of knowledge to direct their play. Will 
you draw attention to the grow^th in striking at sticks, 
which is very prevalent? I hope that all the players 
will read and benefit by your series." 

A "county" captain wrote: "I have been reading 
w^ith interest the articles that have appeared in the 
Ladies' Field on field hockey and should like all players 
to have the benefit of the advice given. The schools 
should be encouraged to read all these articles, as they 
are most instructive." 

That Mr. White is thoroughly qualified to write 

with authority upon field hockey will be apparent in 

the short biography of him which is presented in thi: 

volume. His admonition to "know the rules" is ad 

vice, which, it is needless to say, is the foundation c 

skill in any sport. Too often contests are lost in a' 

kinds of games through ignorance of some simple la 

which is as much a part of the sport as the impleme 

with which it is played. Every hockey player shou 

have a copy of the Official Guide and study the ru' 

thoroughly. Merely glancing over them is not 

value. . o -n r^ 

American Sports ruBLiSHiNG Co 



MR. EUSTACE E. WHITE 

Mr. Eustace E. White is a son of the late Colonel 
Charles Mills White. Born in India, he was edu- 
cated at Hereford Cathedral School and Corpus Christi 
College, Cambridge, where he took a B.A. degree in 
classics. True to a resolve formed at the age of twelve 
he became a schoolmaster and, after filling two or 
three posts, started and maintained for six or seven 
years, a very successful preparatory boys' school of his 
own in the West of England, which was speciallv 
noted for the good style and success of the boys at 
cricket, hockey and other games. 

With a natural taste for writing and lured by the 
romance of journalism he gave up his school and went 
to London where he became sports correspondent and 
then sports editor of the Ladies' Field, the leading 
paper devoted to ladies' sport. As a specialist m 
women's sport he stands alone, including hockey, lawn 
tennis, golf, lacrosse, archery, skating, fencing, croquet, 
rifle shooting, badminton, swimming, not to mention 
cricket, foot ball and athletics, on all of which he has 
written much and with authority. 

At Cambridge he was captain of his college foot 
ball and cricket teams and president of the athletic 
club. While still at school he played cricket for hi? 
county, and later foot ball. In lawn tennis he won 
the county championship and several prizes at open 
tournaments, but had not the necessary leisure or op- 
portunity for full development. 

On taking up hockey he evinced for the game the 
same aptitude as for other sports-. He at once got 

7 




Mr. Eustace E. White 



Spaldiiu/s Athletic Library q 

into the county team as an outside-right, but, dis- 
satisfied with his position, moved to center-half, where 
he found much greater scope for his energy, quickness 
and watchfulness. 

Determined to get with the West of England team, 
which was drawn from the seven Western counties, 
he perfected himself by diligent practise in stick-work 
and strokes. Eventually he was picked for the West 
and played against all the other territories, captaining 
the team his last match. He represented the West 
on the English Hockey Association Council. On giving 
up hockey his enthusiasm for the game found an outlet 
in writing about it and umpiring. After doing a small 
book on "Women's Hockey," he wrote "The Complete 
Hockey Pla5er" (Methuen), the standard book on 
the game. Later, with Mr. Eric Green, the famous 
international, as co-author, he wrote "Hockey" for 
Eveleigh Nash's National Library of Sports and Pas- 
times, editing the library with Mr. E. H. Ryle, the old 
Cambridge quarter-miler. 

Devoting himself to ladies' hockey he has for up- 
wards of ten years umpired for Surrey, the South, 
and England, and on several occasions for Scotland 
and Ireland. As an umpire he is quiet and firm and 
believes in blow^ing the whistle as little as possible. 
"Off-side," "turning on the ball" and "illegal tackling" 
are offenses for which he allows no quarter. His 
knowledge of the sport naturally inspires confidence on 
the part of the players. His motto is, "no fear, no 
favor." 

He carries equal weight as an authority on lawn 
tennis, and Mile. Lenglen's "Lawn Tennis for Girls,"* 
which he edited in English for the famous young French 
player, has been pronounced a most instructive book. 

♦Spalding's Athletic Library (25 cents) 




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Spalding s Athletic Library ii 



Chapter I 
FIRST NECESSITIES 

Hockey is a good game. One hour of it 
will give you as much exercise as you will 
want in the twenty-four. It is, as a game, 
an unselfish game. You cannot play for 
your own hand, ignoring the interests of the 
other ten players, and remain any length of 
time in a good team. Out you go, unless 
you think of the team before yourself. Un- 
selfish players do not always receive their 
proper share of credit, but there is always 
someone in authority, on the selection com- 
mittee, who has the necessary discernment 
and will see to it that they do not suffer. 

So, then, hockey being a good game, you 
will adhere to your intention to take it up, 
or to continue it after leaving school, as the 
case may be. Do not rush off and buy a stick 
without knowing exactly what you ought to 
have. The common tendency is towards 



12 Spalding's Athletic Library 

over-heavy sticks. This is sacrificing quick- 
ness to power. Asked why they use heavy 
sticks in preference to light ones, players 
will give as their reason, either that they 
can hit harder or shoot harder with the 
former. 

Except for backs there is little hard hit- 
ting in modern hockey; and as for shooting, 
how many shots at goal does an individual 
forward get in the course of a closely con- 
tested match? Very few. So their reason 
for using heavy sticks does not seem a very 
good one. 

So much of forward and half-back play 
in modern hockey is finessing and wrist 
work. For this a light stick is, of course, 
best. The absolute limit in ladies' hockey 
should be 22 ounces, and that for a back. 
No forward or half-back should require 
anything over 20 ounces or 21 ounces at 
most, in the case of an exceptionally strong 
or heavy player. 

Many of the old heavy sticks would have 
weighed 2 ounces to 3 ounces less had they 
been better made. A really well made, well 



SpaJdlng^s Athletic Library 13 

balanced stick of 20 ounces, with the wood 
evenly distributed over a not too long blade, 
and a nice medium, whippy handle, has all 
the power of a heavier stick built on clum- 
sier lines. You cannot be too particular in 
choosing your stick. Knowledge will help 
you to a correct choice. 

Having decided that you will qualify as 
a forward you know that you must look out 
for a 20 ounce stick or less. If money is a 
consideration choose a stick with broad 
grain, for this is more durable; if not, you 
may choose a narrow grain, for the ball goes 
off this sweeter. Test various sticks and 
never take the one that does not ^'come up'^ 
well. Do you understand the phrase? It 
is really another way of saying ''well bal- 
anced," A stick that ''comes up" well seems 
almost to spring of itself off the floor as you 
take it up and back for an imaginary stroke. 
And take care of your stick when you have 
one. Rub a little raw linseed oil over the 
blade once a week, and always after a wet 
and muddy match carefully clean and dry 
your stick and oil it. One other point — a 



14 Spalding's Athletic Library 

rubber grip on the handle is almost uni- 
versal 

I am not going to dogmatize about protec- 
tion for the hands. Batting gloves are often 
worn in men's hockey. Personally I always 
wore an old pair of white kid gloves, the 
relic of a dance. They kept the hands warm, 
gave a nice clinging grip and enabled one to 
field the fastest ball without sting. This was 
the identical form of hand-protection often 
affected by players in international matches. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 15 



Chapter II 
A FEW ELEMENTS OF THE GAME 

Much of the bad hitting at hockey is due 
to a wrong hold of the stick. The first 
maxim for a clean hit is ''keep the hands 
close together." The only times when the 
right hand may be separated from the left is 
for dribbling and push-passing. Do not lift 
the stick up abruptly; let it go back more 
smoothly, af :er the golf fashion. The result 
of the abrupt, upright backswing is a chop, 
rather than a hit, which causes the ball to 
get up, to the danger of opponents. 

As you may not raise the stick above the 
shoulder, you will see that the power must 
be applied with forearms and wrists. Re- 
member to let the stick, hands and arms fol- 
low through after the ball has been hit, and 
in the direction the ball is meant to take. 
To prevent ''sticks" at the end of the follow- 
through, turn the hands over from right to 



1 6 SpalditK/s Athletic Library 

left; but do not attempt this last until you 
can hit the ball cleanly. If you attempt it 
before, you will smother the hit. And do be 
careful to see the ball when you actually 
hit it. That, of course, is another way of 
putting the old, old precept, ''Keep your eye 
on the ball." 

Far too much practise in ladies' hockey 
consists of shooting at goal. Why not vary 
this by placing a touch flag in the ground 
and aiming at it? It would tend to greater 
accuracy besides being quite amusing. 

If you would be accurate at hockey you 
must think more about the second half of the 
hit than the first. 

I wish you could see some of the leading 
women players hitting corners or centering 
from outside right. Why? Because they 
see the ball when they hit it and because they 
follow through after the ball. Of course, a 
good eye, keeping the hands close together 
and gripping tight at the moment of hitting 
are essential; but these would avail little if 
the first two were neglected. Hockey would 
be so much easier if the player would re- 



SpaUing's Athletic Library 17 

member to keep her ''eye on the ball and 
follow through." 

It is, too, the foundation of a good style. 
I know how eager beginners are to get on 
to the field and play a gayne of hockey. It 
is the set game that appeals to them. That 
is very natural ; but I am quite sure it would 
be very much better to learn the strokes of 
the game and its various other parts and to 
acquire some proficiency with your stick be- 
fore attempting a game itself. How easy 
and pleasant to train a team of players start- 
ing thus equipped! What confusion when 
beginners, with little or no previous instruc- 
tion, assemble for their first game. I know, 
because I have often had to handle such a 
situation. My task has been to discover 
what places the players were fitted for, in- 
struct each in the duties of her position, start 
a game and keep it going ; and all this in one 
short afternoon! 

The first few days of practise at any rate 
should be devoted to learning the game 
piecemeal. That is the better way, and I 
recommend it to all games mistresses. 



1 8 SpaJdincfs Athlefic Library 

If these lessons are to fulfil their purpose^ 
they must not be monotonous. So I am 
g-oi ng to break away from hitting the ball 
and talk a little about a very important 
branch of hockey, namely, ''fielding." 

Do you know what you may field with? 
I remember once being called to book by an 
ignorant player for fielding with my hand. 
He argued the point — until I had the im- 
modesty to inform him that I had written a 
book on the game! Yes, you may field with 
your hand. And your feet? Yes, with 
them, too. In fact, you may field with any 
and every part of your person, if so minded. 

But the proper, the best, instrument for 
fielding is the stick. And the only way to 
learn to field with the stick is to field with 
it on every possible occasion. You will 
never field well with the stick unless you 
watch the ball closely. It is difficult on a 
bumpy ground, but not impossible if you 
watch the ball on to the stick. One of the 
chief difTerences between good and bad 
players is that the former fields with the 
stick, the latter with the feet and legs. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 19 

In hitting practise never field with any- 
thing except the stick. But you must not 
neglect the hand. A few minutes separate 
practise of this every time you turn out 
should suffice. Hold you stick in your left 
hand, place your heels together, with toes 
turned out, and field the ball with the right 
hand, palm outwards and fingers pointing to 
the ground. When the ball is coming 
straight towards you, a simple plan is to field 
it with the sole of the foot. This is very 
effective in the case of corners, when it is so 
necessary to act promptly. 

The more usual way of fielding with the 
feet is to place them together and let the 
ball strike the boots or leg guards. Fielding 
with one leg generally results in the ball 
glancing off. Players must exercise their 
common sense about fielding. A bumping 
ball to a wing forward, unless she is closely 
marked, should be fielded with the hand, 
otherwise a golden opening may be lost. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 



- Chapter III 

LEARNING THE STROKES 

Now you are ready to learn the different 
strokes used in hockey. The drive, which is 
simply a hard hit by a back or a fast shot by 
a forward, you have already learned. There 
is a second form of this stroke known as the 
mow. No need to describe it; the name 
does that for us. It is an ugly stroke ; please 
avoid it! 

The drive deals with a ball on your right 
side. What are you to do with a ball on 
your left side? How are you to hit it? If 
you were allowed to use the back of your 
stick it would be simple enough: but the 
rules will not let you do that. Of course, 
you could run around the ball and put it on 
your right side, but that is not always pos- 
sible, and it wastes time. What you must 
do is to turn the stick over with the toe 
of it pointing towards you and play what is 



22 Spalding s Athletic Library 

called the reverse stroke. This stroke is 
most clearly illustrated in the photograph. 
The stroke, you observe, is from left to 
right; the player has her right hand below 
her left; she plays the ball when it is oppo- 
site her right foot and when her right foot 
is in advance of her left; she makes the 
stroke almost entirely with hands and wrists ; 
she keeps her head down and is looking at 
the ball until she has hit it; and finally she 
plays the ball when it is well under and near 
to her right foot. 

In all these things she is quite right. 
Please copy! I want to add a few points 
that cannot be seen in the picture. Grip 
very tightly with the fingers; play the shot 
with confidence; make the swing as short as 
possible. The reverse stroke is more a flick 
than a hit. It is very useful in forward play; 
a half-back, especially a left half-back, will 
often employ it, while it is essential to good 
stick work. Do not yield to the temptation 
to use as a fancy stroke what is only an 
emergency stroke. Properly timed, the re- 
verse stroke will despatch the ball at a great 



Spaldincj s Athletic Library 23 

pace. I remember one outside left who could 
center the ball from the corner flag with the 
reverse almost as fast as outside right with 
the ordinary right to left hit. You will 
never make this stroke with any certainty 
unless you often practise it. To practise it 
run down the field passing, with a player on 
your right. Coming back, reverse the posi- 
tions. The first time I saw a player make 
this stroke effectively I thought it very won- 
derful. There is nothing at all wonderful 
about the ^'reverse," as you yourselves will 
discover after you have practised it for a 
while. 

My own pet stroke as a center-half was 
the left-hand lunge. It was a natural stroke 
which I never had to learn, but only devel- 
oped. It is a back-hand stroke and requires 
a strong wrist, which is why girls play it, 
as a rule, so seldom and so weakly. The 
special value of this lunge is the extended 
reach it gives a player. Take the photo- 
graph and in imagination bring the player's 
right hand down to its usual place below the 
left. See how her reach is shortened? This 



24 Spalditu/s Athletic Library i 

extra foot or more of reach is of great im- 
portance. Against players unfamiliar with 
it the lunge is specially effeciive. It takes 
them by surprise. They think they are well 
out of a half-back's reach when suddenly 
they find themselves checked by a stick 
which seems to have grown several feet in 
length. 

Note the picture! The stroke is being 
very correctly played — left arm fully ex- 
tended, left leg well in advance of right, 
right arm thrown well back to expand chest 
and give extra reach and power, and wrist 
well round at back of handle. This is an 
action photograph taken during the actual 
playing of the stroke. 

And while you are looking at this picture, 
look a little further and carry your eyes to 
the other player, a forward, dribbling the 
ball. Notice that her right hand is sep- 
arated from her left, as it should be for 
close dribbling, and no harm if it were a 
little lower on the handle, for this would 
give the player more power and more con- 
trol of the ball. 



, Spalding's Athletic Library 25 

What 1 like so about these two young 
players, both keen members of their school 
team, is the way they look at the ball. They 
have eyes for nothing else. 

Another recognized stroke is one called 
the right-hand cut. It is used in defense, 
usually by a half or back crossing an oppo- 
nent from the left, and is made by holding 
the stick reversed in the right hand. 

Players who are clever at stick-work often 
get a ball on their left into control again 
by reversing the stick and holding it in the 
left hand. This should, no doubt, be called 
the left-hand cut, but first-class players 
never bother their heads with names. They 
just make the strokes. The origin of the 
more unusual strokes is resourcefulness and 
ingenuity. Necessity being the mother of 
invention, a player must find some way of 
playing the ball in whatever situation she 
finds herself. That is how new strokes orig- 
inate, and then someone labels them with a 
name. 

Take the job. Players use this stroke 
without ever knowing that is its name. It 



26 Spalding's Athletic Library 

is far easier to play than define. The arm 
is stretched out to its full extent, the back of 
the stick laid on the ground, with the face 
uppermost. A series of quick thrusts at the 
ball will keep the player in touch with it 
until she can get near enough for a proper 
hit. It can be played with either hand. 
Backs use it most. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 29 



Chapter IV 

DRIBBLING, STICK-WORK, 
SHOOTING 

Whether you are qualifying for the posi- 
tion of forward, half-back or back, drib- 
bling concerns you. Though required to 
dribble much less than forwards, half-backs 
and backs are all the better for striving to 
become expert dribblers. A half-back who 
can herself dribble well is much more likely 
to cope successfully with a clever forward 
than one who cannot. She knows what to 
expect; and anticipating the move of an 
opponent is really more than half the bat- 
tle. And yet it is quite a common belief that 
dribbling is the special monopoly of for- 
wards. So, whoever you are, learn to drib- 
ble. 

The first point in dribbling is to keep con- 
trol of the ball. That means chiefly never 
to let the ball out of stick's length. Hitting 



30 Spalding's Athletic Library 

the ball ahead and then running after it is 
not dribbling. That is commonly known in 
hockey as ''hit-and-rush'' tactics which good 
forwards will deliberately adopt in certain 
conditions, as, for example, when the ground 
is very muddy or too rough for accurate 
dribbling. The hit-and-rush method may 
be used to advantage also when a fast for- 
ward gets away by herself and has only the 
backs between her and the circle. With no 
ball to control she can make full use of her 
pace. So she hits it past the backs and runs 
after it; and she is careful, or should be, 
to hit the ball to the right of her opponent, 
that is, to the latter's left side, the more dif- 
ficult side to field on, for the stick must be 
reversed. 

Please notice the player in the picture. 
She is observing the first rule in dribbling 
and is keeping the ball near her stick. She 
is also holding her right hand low on the 
handle; she is dribbling with the ball in 
front of her instead of on her right side, 
and finally she is keeping her head down and 
her eye on the ball. 



Spalding s Athletic Library 31 

All this is as it should be. The right hand 
down there means power, quickness, con- 
trol; it is easier to dribble with the ball in 
front because the stick is more upright and 
the ball more directly under the eye; and 
as to head down, etc., that is obvious. 

Take particular notice of having the ball 
in front of you. It means, in addition to 
the advantages named, that the player is 
less impeded and can forge ahead faster than 
if she is coaxing the ball along at her side. 

The best dribblers propel the ball by 
quick little thrusts or pats. Grounds are sel- 
dom true enough to permit of the ball being 
run along the ground without its leaving the 
stick. The method, however, is not unknown 
in the best hockey. 

An important part of dribbling is to keep 
opponents on your left side, the side from 
which it is dangerous for them to attempt to 
tackle you. 

Stick-work comes a great deal into drib- 
bling; it means simply an adroit handling 
of the stick, the ability to divert the ball 
this way or that, to make all the possible 



32 Spaldincfs Athletic Library 

Strokes of the game spontaneously and in- 
stantaneously. Good stick-work is the abil- 
ity to deal with the ball directly it is within 
reach of the stick. The West of England 
once had an ambidextrous player who could 
take the ball on the volley, whichever side 
it came, and carry it along without letting 
it touch the ground for 20 or 30 yards, occa- 
sionally twice as far, going at a high speed 
meanwhile. I have never seen anyone so 
clever in manipulating the stick. Right and 
left hand ''cuts," lunges, ''jobs," reverses, 
were all used in dribbling. 

The "push" pass, used by every player on 
the field, has been very fashionable since 
short passing took the place of the old-fash- 
ioned long passing. This stroke, very simi- 
lar to the "scoop," and essential to good 
dribbling, is made chiefly from left to right. 
It is made with a strong push of the wrists 
and without drawing the stick back. Every 
member of the forward line uses it fre- 
quently, except outside-right, who will, 
however, occasionally use the right to left 
"push" pass. The only difference between 



SpaUiru/s Athletic Library 33 

this pass and the ''scoop'' is that the latter 
raises the ball off the ground. 

Observe the player in the illustration. She 
is making the push-pass when the ball is well 
away from her on her right. She is, or 
should be, making it with a turn of the 
wrists from left to right rather than a turn 
of the body in that direction. She might 
with advantage, I think, have the right hand 
a trifle lower. She is holding rather a long 
handle for a wrist pass. 

Shooting is, as it were, the grand finale, 
up to which the rest of the game has been 
leading. The space in which shooting is 
permissible is very confined, the outer edge 
of the shooting circle — really only half- 
circle^being only 15 yards from the goal. 

With the shooting circle so small and the 
goal only 4 yards wide and 7 feet high, how 
important, when you reach the circle, to 
shoot correctly! 

Instant action on reaching the circle is im- 
perative. The usual advice to young play- 
ers is, shoot at once and as hard as you can 
and follow up your shot. 



34 Spalding s Athletic Library 

For shots from the edge of the circle the 
recipe is — look once at the part of the goal 
you mean to aim for, then look at the ball, 
grip your stick tightly, run no risk of giving 
''sticks,^' put all your wrist and forearm 
into the shot, and follow-through. Always 
follow up your shots and the shots of fellow 
forwards, though occasionally it may be ad- 
visable for a forward to hang back for the 
goalkeeper's clearing. 




'^ 



c/2 s: 




Spalding's Athletic Library yj 



Chapter V 

POSITIONS IN THE FIELD 

The Back Division 

If you cannot decide yourself what posi- 
tion in the field you are best fitted for, ask 
someone with experience to decide for you. 
So many young players, and older ones, too, 
have become fixtures in a certain position^ 
not because they are fitted for it, but because 
having started there, they think they are 
bound to that position for the rest of their 
lives and can play in no other. 

Are you naturally a hard hitter, fonder 
of hitting the ball than finessing with it, then 
you are certainly a back. An upright com- 
manding style generally marks the back. 
The player who gets down to her work and 
always wants to be where the ball is is much 
more likely to be a half-back. 

I am quite sure of this, that unless you 
are an energetic player of the worrying type, 



38 Spalding's Athletic Library 

the type that iiever gives up, never leaves 
off plaguing an opponent with the ball, you 
are not cut out for a half-back. 

Of this, too, you may be perfectly certain, 
that unless you are a clean hitter and a safe 
fielder the position of back is not for you. 

Goalkeepers in ladies' hockey do not use 
the hands nearly enough. They have more 
time to do so than in men's hockey where 
the forwards are naturally quicker in fol- 
lowing up their shots. 

I have always felt that goalkeeping might 
be fare more interesting and enjoyable if 
goalkeepers knew how to field with their 
hands. 

To me almost the most fascinating part 
of cricket was ground-fielding. There was 
nothing peculiar in this, for many others 
who play cricket have the same fondness 
for fielding. There is something very satis- 
fying in fielding a ball cleanly and in good 
style. For the moment you are the most im- 
portant player on the field, which is some- 
thing, while to have the ball all to yourself 
is gratifying and brings you into the picture. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 39 

How much better to stop with your hand 
the hard shot that is aimed at goal than 
to take a wild hit at it, and missing, to cover 
yourself with confusion. 

Let me quite briefly tell the goalkeeper 
what she ought to do and avoid doing. 

Stand in goal a foot over the goal-line, 
not behind it; stand rather to the left, so that 
right hand, right foot and stick may guard 
the greater part of the goal. Hold the stick 
in the right hand. 

As the opposing forwards near the circle, 
move to the side where the ball is. In clear- 
ing hit hard away to the touch-line. Al- 
ways face the shot squarely whichever side 
it comes from. Never treat a slow sho^ care- 
lessly. Keep your eye on the ball or you 
will rue it. 

Remember that good forwards place their 
shots. Watch them closely and you will 
often anticipate their intentions. The best 
goalkeepers seem to act as a magnet to the 
ball. That is because they see where the 
forward means to shoot and get there in 
time. Come out of goal only when you 



40 Spalding s Athletic Library 

know you will reach the ball first. You may 
not hand the ball — I wish you might — but 
you may kick it. Do so more often and 
more vigorously. 

''Should I ever take a flying hit?" asks 
many a goalkeeper. Yes, certainly — when 
you are pressed and when you can get noth- 
ing else to the ball. See that your backs do 
not block your view of the ball at such times 
as corners and penalty corners, when, re- 
member, there should never be more than 
two players besides yourself between the 
goal posts. I said just now, clear to the 
touch-lines, but if you see a safe opening 
for a pass down-field, hit there. 

One final bit of advice to all players : See 
that you are warmly clad enough for the 
cold winds that so often blow during the 
hockey season. No player is at her best 
when her blood is frozen. 

I want to address a few hints to the backs 
- — to the right back first. It is usual in first- 
class hockey for the right back to play a 
little further up the field than her partner; 
so for this reason, if for no other, the right 



Spaldln(/s Athletic Library 41 

back needs pace. The tendency in ladies' 
hockey is for the backs to stand too deep, too 
far behind their halves and forwards, and 
a shockingly bad tendency it is. They stand 
thus deep for defensive reasons, forgetting 
that attack is the best kind of defence. 

England, not many years ago, had a back 
who played close up behind her halves and 
gave her forwards almost more than they 
wanted to do! This was Miss A. Murray, 
of Sussex. She was almost unique in ladies' 
hockey. I wish there were more like her. 
Of course, she sometimes paid the penalty 
of her boldness; but how much oftener did 
her policy succeed! Fast backs can, of 
course, afford to stand further up than slow 
ones. 

As right back you have one friend and 
one foe under your special charge — inner 
right and inner left. You must get the ball 
to the former when she is unmarked, and 
stop the latter when she is breaking away. 
But at times you will have to attend to other 
players, and it is quite likely that in the 
course of some matches you will be asked 



42 SpaUiiK/s Athletic Library 

to tackle every forward in the opposing 
line, save outer right. 

In order to have as much of the game as 
possible on your right stand about midw^ay 
betw^een the opposing center and inner left. 
You will do a good deal of intercepting, 
and will find that left-hand lunge very use- 
ful. Do not worry because you cannot al- 
ways get possession of the ball after tackling 
the left inner. If your tackle has made her 
pass the ball, you have done something. 
Then combine with your right half; have 
an understanding with her, and be ready to 
receive a pass from her in an emergency. 

You will often use the push-pass. More 
especially in attack, keep the ball in play. 
Remember to stand more to the right when 
a corner is being hit by your own side, in 
order to intercept the clearing hit, which 
will be to the touch-line. 

In some ways left back is a more awkward 
position than right. In the former position 
you so often find yourself running towards 
the touch-line with the game on your left, 
obliged to use the difficult reverse stroke 
or unable to tackle for fear of a foul. 



Spalding s Athletic Library 43 

The picture gives an example of an illegal 
tackle on the left. Inner right is dribbling 
down the field, and the left back, overtak- 
ing her, tackles her from the left and 
touches her before touching the ball. This 
is one of the things you must avoid. How^? 
Well, w^hy not tackle her from the other 
side — run round her? 

Like your partner, you have two players 
to look after — the opposing inner right and 
your own left inner. 

Play a little to the left of the former. 
This will enable you to tackle her at once 
and without risk of a foul. 

A great deal of intercepting will come 
your way, and for this you will find the 
right-hand and left-hand cuts, lunge and re- 
verse strokes very useful. And please do 
avoid hitting out. It is such bad hockey! 

Look out for the moment when your left 
half compels outer right to center. 

And look out for an opposing right inner 
who treats a penalty corner as the player is 
doing in the second illustration, fielding it 
with the sole of her foot and then shooting. 



44 Spalding^s Athletic Library 

It is a quick and dangerous method. This 
warning I address to you, for that player is 
your special care; but it concerns the for- 
wards and halves really more than you, for 
they are the ones to charge out, though you 
must look out for the shot if it evades them. 



Spaldin^^s Athletic Library 47 



Chapter VI 

THE HALF-BACK LINE 

There is no place like half-back. But 
perhaps I am prejudiced, for that was my 
own position, after a season or two as a roll- 
ing stone. Once find your true position and 
you never have the smallest doubt about it. 
Conversely, if you are always questioning 
whether or no you are in your true position 
you may be sure you are not. Here and 
there a player seems to do equally well in 
two different positions, but she always pre- 
fers one of them. 

Center 

The plum position in the half-back 
line is center. I feel I may write about cen- 
ter-half with some assurance, for I played 
there for many years. 

It is useless your thinking of being a cen- 
ter-half unless you have more than one per- 
son's legitimate share of energy! There 



48 Spalding's Athletic Library 

must be no limit to your energy or staying 
powers. As center-half you are easily the 
hardest worked member of the team, busy 
whether on the winning or losing side, al- 
ways in the thick of it. 

If you are at all a leisurely or lazy person 
center-half is not for you. To be success- 
ful there you must revel in hard work. And 
great quickness is required of you. This is 
essential. If you cannot dart and dodge and 
turn quickly let center-half alone. 

Of mental qualities you need extreme 
watchfulness. If you fasten your eye on the 
ball and the movements of the players with 
it, say, the opposing backs, it is surprising 
how much of the ground you can cover. 
Players who watch like this often get a repu- 
tation for a sort of second sight. 

Miss E. G. Johnson, who captained Eng- 
land for eight seasons, had this reputation 
for anticipa'ing the intentions of opponents. 
Experience had taught her where the ball 
was likely to go and by watching she could 
decide where it would certainly go. I have 
never seen a half-back in ladies' hockey like 



Spalding's Athletic Library 49 

her in this respect, nor in one other, namely, 
her unerring gift for picking out the right 
forward to pass to and then passing to her 
at once. 

Those two qualities alone would make a 
great center-half. Ponder this well, you 
who aspire to be cen'er-halves. 

Coming now to the duties of center-half. 
Look at the photograph of the initial bully. 
The half is standing about a yard and a 
half behind the bully, w^hich is correct. By 
standing nearer she would impede her own 
center-forward. 

Coaching a strange team once I observed 
that the center-half stood some eight or ten 
yards away from the bully. I indicated to 
her her right place, and was rather taken 
aback by her manner of receiving my well 
meant hint. Drawing herself up she re- 
plied, in a tone of cold displeasure: ''I 
prefer to stand where I am, thank you." You 
will agree that this was very silly and de- 
served correction. Well, it got what is 
deserved, for the captain, no respecter of 
persons, pointedly told the player what 
everyone thought of her. 



50 Spalding's Athletic Library 

In attacks the center-half supports her 
own center-forward, follows a few yards be« 
hind her, and gives her the ball when she is 
unmarked. In defense she is expected to 
shadow the opposing center-forward. A 
good half who thinks for herself will dis- 
tribute her energies far more widely than 
that. She must take a hand in helping or 
hindering the inside forwards for and 
against, and even sometimes pass out to her 
wings. A wandjring center-half is a bit of 
a bother to the rest of the team so, although 
she often has to go to the assistance of the 
other halves, let her go back to her place 
as quickly as may be. 

In attack she must keep up with the game 
and keep the forwards supplied with the 
ball, using chiefly the push pass. Some cap- 
tains, very foolishly, give strict orders that 
the halves must never go into the circle. A 
center-half, quick at seeing and seizing op- 
portunities and a hard shot, will often score 
goals from the edge of the circle. When 
the forwards have followed up a shot of 
their own there must be someone on the edge 



Spalding's Athletic Library 51 

of the circle to intercept a clearing hit; and 
who better than the center-half? A center- 
half must not fiddle with the ball. This is 
often mere gallery play. She must act at 
once and often hit the ball without first 
stopping it. And if she begins a movement 
let her go through with it. Unless a deter- 
mined worrier she will never make a good 
defensive player. 

Left-Half 

Very few players choose left-half. It is 
not a popular place. Why? Answer: Be- 
cause of its difficulties. 

As a left-half you are marking probably 
the fastest player on the other side — outer- 
right. That is no occasion for mirth. Then 
unless you literally hug the touch-line you 
are so often awkwardly placed for tackling 
that player. Your hold-by is just that '^hug 
the touch line." This makes things easier 
for you by giving you still more of the game 
on your right and still less on your left. 

And remember and look out for the de- 
vice by which outer-left, your special con- 



52 Spalding's Athletic Library 

cern, will try to outwit you. She will hit the 
ball to your left side and run round you the 
other. By keeping near the touch line you 
make that device impossible. Of course, you 
must use your discretion and leave the touch 
line for intercepting passes or tackling an 
unmarked and dangerous inner-right. And 
please do not retreat before a forward ; go 
in and tackle her at once, and if you miss 
have another try. By retreating you allow 
the attack to get nearer goal. In tackling 
outer-right from her left side, use the right- 
hand cut. 

Practise the reverse stroke diligently. In 
attack you are to feed your own outer-left, 
or, if she is hemmed in, inner-left. You 
must learn to keep the ball in play. A useful 
form of pass is hitting the ball ahead and 
down the touch line for a fast wing. 

The duty of rolling the ball in from touch 
on her side of the ground belongs to the left- 
half. What poor use is often made of the 
roll-in! What good use ought to be made 
made of it! There is hardly such a thing 
as roll-in tactics in club hockey. 



Spalding s Athletic Library 53 

The ball is slung in, generally straight 
down the line, without any look round to see 
what players are unmarked. First of all, 
the half-back should have an understanding 
with her inner and outer left, her left-back 
and center-forward and half. With five 
players to whom she may roll in the ball, 
she has much need for vigilance and scope 
for ingenuity. One effective device is for 
her to roll the ball to inner-left, who will 
tap it back to her, and she will then hit it 
down the line to outer-left, who has run on. 
There are variants of this which she can 
think out with the other players. 

A roll-in should be almost as useful as a 
free hit, and would be if players thought of 
it in that light. 

To the left-half, too, will often fall the 
duty of taking a free hit. Here, again, hurry 
and want of thought often spoil what should 
be a real advantage. Hitting in a hurry 
the half tops the ball and sends it a few 
yards. The fact is that free hits are so com- 
mon that players underrate their value. 

If the hockey were better free hits would 



54 Spalding s Athletic Library 

be fewer, and then players would realize 
the value of the latter. 

Right-Half 

In many respects the right half-back is 
the right-back over again. Her duties, too, 
are similar to the left-half's. But, unlike 
the latter, she must not hug the touchline. 
If she did she would have all the game on 
her left. 

Her duty in defense is to mark the op- 
posing outer-left, an easier player to deal 
with than outer-right, as a comparison of the 
two positions shows. Outer-left has to turn 
before she can center, and in doing so must 
check her speed. This gives the right-half 
her chance. And even in passing to her in- 
ner, outer-left is necessarily less quick than 
outer-right. So in these respects right-half 
is the easier position. And it is, too, much 
easier for her to keep the ball in play. She 
has no excuse for hitting out. 

In attack she must feed outer-right, and 
not forget inner-right. There must be no 
one between her and these two forwards. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 55 

If an opposing half gets there she must draw 
that player in such a way that she can get 
the ball to one of the forwards. 

In defense she must face the opposing 
wing forward, but hold herself ready to run 
in and intercept passes for that player. 

Outer-lefts seem to play a more machine- 
like game than any other forwards. They 
run down to a certain point, stop, or nearly 
so, turn squarely towards goal and center. 
If the half hampers them they start to drib- 
ble towards their own goal or somehow cir- 
cumvent the former. 

It is all very obvious and the right-half 
knows what to expect. When chasing the 
wing let her guard against overruning that 
player when she pulls up for her center. 

A right-half who has been left behind by 
a fast wing may often be in time to intercept 
the center by cutting across to the edge of the 
circle. A right-half who cannot hit the ball 
without first stopping it is not much of a 
player. The need for hitting the ball in mo- 
tion is always coming her way. The push 
pass to the right and the left-hand lunge are 
essential to the right-half. 



i-s 





Spalding's Athletic Library 57 



Chapter VII 
THE FORWARD LINE 

In Great Britain for some years before 
1914 the short-passing game had been well 
established in ladies' hockey. But I can re- 
member the time when forward play was 
very different, when long passing and ''hit- 
and-rush" were the order. When grounds 
are rough or muddy then hitting and rush- 
ing will often pay better, but such conditions 
ought to be very abnormal. This is really 
a case of tactics. Forward play must be 
taught and learned as for normal conditions. 
Forwards must set themselves to learn the 
short-passing game, without which real 
combination is impossible. 

Let me begin by pointing out that when 
the center-forward has the ball the two in- 
ners must be in advance of her and the two 
outers must be in advance of the two inners. 
This is the correct formation of the forward 



:;8 Spalding's Athletic Library 

line in attack. Exigencies of the game often 
vary this, but it is the true model and a good 
hold-by for the young player. 

In giving passes, hit them in front of the 
player for whom intended, far enough ahead 
for her to take them at top speed. No team 
can be first-class unless they observe this. 
Without it dash is really impossible. 

Briefly, the essential qualifications are: 
The two wings must be fast and able to cen- 
ter hard; inner-right must be a good shot, 
dashing and plucky; inner-left must be a 
good dribbler, able to pass easily from left 
to right and field well with her stick; center, 
too, must be a good dribbler, a straight run- 
ner, quick and unselfish with her stick and a 
good shot. If you are not to be a back or a 
half-back, you are cut out for one of these 
positions. Which? It should not be very 
hard to decide. More players, I suppose, 
aspire to be a center than anything else. It 
is the position of supreme importance, like 
the stroke of the Varsity crew. But unless 
you have the qualifications just enumerated 
it is mere conceit setting your cap at this 
position of distinction. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 59 

Outer-Right 

The easiest position in the forward line 
is outer-right. So let me take it first. Re- 
member that as the ground is 60 yards wide 
each of the forw^ards has, theoretically, a 
track down the field of 12 yards wide in 
which to work. Accordingly outer-right's 
place is, technically, some 5 yards or 6 yards 
from the touch-line. In actual practise it is 
half the distance. The advantage of playing 
near the touch-line is that it draws the op- 
posing half-backs away from the right in- 
ner ; the disadvantage, that it gives less scope 
for dribbling round the half. 

To defeat the opposing half or back, as 
the case may be, outer-right merely has to 
hit the ball smartly to the right of that 
player and run round her on the other side. 

This device is now taught at many 
schools, and opponents expect it and are 
ready to frustrate it. 

There are two alternatives. You can 
shape as if you meant to hit the ball to the 
right, deceive your opponent into thinking 
that, and then quickly dribble it to the left; 



6o Spalding's Athletic Library 

or you can shape to hit it to the right, draw 
your opponent towards the touch-line, and 
then pass in to your partner. The device 
(of hitting to the right) is very effectively 
used when an opponent charges down on 
you. Try it and see! 

A famous player in men's hockey, who ex- 
celled in this particular, practised it as fol- 
lows: 

He would run down with the ball and as 
he neared the left-back, who had come 
across to stop him, he would edge away a 
little to the left, while allowing the ball to 
be well out on his right and just within reach 
of the left-hand lunge. Thus he would be 
to the left of his opponent and the ball to 
the right of that player. At the right mo- 
ment he would give a quick lunge at the 
ball, dart round his opponent and gather 
the ball on the other side without having 
to any extent checked his speed. 

To imitate this effectively you must leave 
enough room between yourself and the 
touch-line. Do not hit the ball too fine, that 
is, too straight, or your opponent will be able 



Spaldiiufs Athletic Library 6 1 

to stop it with her foot. Also avoid hanging 
on to the ball too long. Remember the im- 
portance of keeping the defense on your left 
so long as you have the ball. They cannot 
tackle very effectively from that side, so you 
have them at a disadvantage. Make the 
most of it. This makes your position easy; 
so does the fact that your pass in and your 
centers are natural hits from right to left. 

If you are opposed by a left-half who 
drifts to the center, make the most of this, 
too, by keeping well out on the wing. 

The usual course for outer-right is to run 
down to a point near the touch-line opposite 
the circle and then center in at right-angles 
to the former and as hard as she can with- 
out giving ''sticks. '' To vary this she should 
make an occasional dash for the circle. This 
may take her opponents by surprise or throw 
them into confusion. And when you do get 
to the circle, shoot at once and hard. 

Combine with your inner and place your- 
self where she can get her passes to you. 

You will take corners and penalty corners 
unless for some special reason the captain 



62 Spalding's Athletic Library 

deputes it to the right half. Of course, 
when the corner is from the left you come 
up to the edge of the circle. 

It is necessary to remind young players 
that if, in taking a corner hit, they miss the 
ball altogether they may take it again. No 
penalty is attached to this, as at golf. If, 
however, the ball is so much as touched, a 
second hit before another player touches it 
incurs a free hit. 

Outer-rights do not do enough defensive 
work. When their backs are specially hard 
pressed they might now and then take a 
hand, while they should always worry the 
half-back who robs them of the ball. 

Outer-Left 

Outer-left is much more difficult. The 
player who fills it must keep the ball in 
play and make an awkward turn to the right 
before she can center at the right pace. 

The regulation course is to run down till 
opposite the circle and then center. A good 
alternative is, after running down to stop 
dead and dribble round the opposing back 



Spaldimfs Athletic Library 63 

or half, with a view either to making a dash 
for the circle or a carefully placed center. 
So few outer-lefts can pass in to the center 
while going at top speed. Without this abil- 
ity it is impossible to be first-class. In ef- 
fecting this pass in, the body makes a half 
right turn from the hips. The actual hit 
is a forearm and wrist shot. This pass-in 
must take place not later than the 25 yard 
line. It must not be confused with the ordi- 
nary center, for which the player turns 
square to the circle with her back to the 
touch-line. The object of centering at the 
point stated is that the inside forwards may 
take the pass at top speed. 

Play near the touch-line, never more than 
5 yards away. You must be expert at the 
reverse stroke, but use it only when you can- 
not make the ordinary hit or push pass from 
left to right. One danger to guard against 
is circling on the ball and obstruction. 

In one respect outer-left has the pull of 
outer-right. She gets more passes, because 
players naturally hit to the left. 

Inner-right and inner-left may be taken 
together. In mid-field they play nearer their 



64 Spalditu/s Athletic Library 

wings than their center. As the attack nears 
the circle they close in. Their chief busi- 
ness is to feed their wings, but as the ob- 
ject of attack is to get the ball into the circle 
and shoot they will not be so silly as to pass 
out to their wings when the circle is almost 
reached. Yet this is a very common mistake, 
which arises from want of thought. 

After the ''25" is passed they should be 
more concerned with their center. This is 
when and where combination is most 
severely tested. 

Inner-right has more opportunities of 
shooting than anyone. She must shoot at 
once and follow up her shot, as well as the 
shots of her center and of inner-left. It is 
useless for inner-left to shoot if her shot is 
certain to go to the left of the goal. She 
must manoeuver herself into a better posi- 
tion or pass back to her center on the edge 
of the circle. 

Early in this lesson I observed that the 
forward line in attack should be semi-cir- 
cular. Thus the center-forward is behind 
the other four. She reaps three advantages 



Spalding's Athletic Library 65 

from this : she will see clearly what her for- 
ward line is doing; she will never be off- 
side ; she will take her passes at top speed. I 
want, however, to insist that this is not a 
hard-and-fast formation. It may be re- 
garded merely as a good formula. 

Opening up the game is center-forward's 
special work. And what is this? In a word, 
drawing the defense on to herself so that an- 
other forward is unmarked and then plac- 
ing herself where a return pass can reach 
her. She must compel both attack and de- 
fense to spread out after a center bully. 

One of the worst features of ladies' 
hockey is a tendency to bunch in the center 
of the field, or wherever the ball is. The 
center-forward must do all she can to coun- 
teract this, and one way is by keeping with- 
in the 12 yards nominally allotted to her. 
She should, as far as possible, make a bee 
line for the goal. All the best centers go very 
straight, with a tendency to bear to the right 
so as to have the defense on their left side. 

Finally, all three inside forwards should 
lend a hand in defense when their goal is 
being bombarded. 



Spalding's Athletic Library 67 

Chapter VIII 

THE TEAM AND ITS TACTICS 

Equipped with strokes, understanding the 
duties of the several positions, and conver- 
sant with the rules, the team needs a leader, 
a captain. A captain must lead, and the 
better the captain the better the team. 
Choose your captain carefully. The best 
player does not necessarily make a good 
captain. Besides skill, knowledge of the 
game, and experience, a captain must have 
personality; her word must carry weight; 
her presence on the field must be of the 
kind that is felt and that inspires those un- 
der her to outdo their best; her blame must 
be dreaded; her praise must be a coveted 
prize. A weak captain, though a strong 
player, is a source of weakness to a team. 
Countless matches are lost through bad cap- 
taincy. How? Let me give one instance. 
A goal is badly wanted to win or save a 



68 Spaldiiu/s .Ithfi'fic Library 

match. A change of tactics, a temporary 
shuffling in the forward line, an order to 
the wings to make a dash for the circle in- 
stead of centering, carte blanche to the cen- 
ter-half to shoot whenever she gets a chance, 
and a wholesale appeal to the team to make 
a special effort will have the desired effect. 
A diflkient captain, a captain without force 
of character, initiative or imagination, either 
does not think of, or else fails to enforce, 
any of these things. That is bad captaincy 
of a negative kind. 

There is, too, bad captaincy of a positive 
kind, plenty of it. One of the commonest 
mistakes captains make is, when they win 
the toss, to choose the worse of the two ends. 
They elect to play the first half against the 
wind, up the hill, or facing the driving rain. 
Why? Well, they argue that it is better to 
have the conditions in your favor in the sec- 
ond half, when you are tired. All wrong! 
Take the gifts the gods offer nou\^ The wind 
may drop, may even shift, the rain cease. 

Start with the maximum of advantages 
and with your maximum effort. Score goals 



SpaJdin(fs Athletic Library 69 

at the beginning of a match. Their moral 
effect on you and your opponents is greater 
than you know. A lead of two goals means 
so much more confidence to you and so 
much less to your opponents. 

Remember that it is far harder to score 
goals than it is to prevent the other side 
scoring them. 

No team that crosses over, say 3 love, 
should ever be beaten — if they play for 
"keeps." I am not going to advocate this 
kind of hockey, but it is certain that if all 
eleven members of a team with this lead con- 
centrated on defense, they could not be 
beaten. 

The sporting game to play is, of course, 
to strain every nerve to increase that lead, 
and in doing this you are really concentrat- 
ing on defense, for it is a truism that ''at- 
tack" is the best ''defense." 

I saw a "county" team beaten chiefly, I 
am sure, because they chose the less heroic 
part of staying at home and defending, 
backs and halves playing so far behind their 
forwards in attack that the latter could never 



70 SpaLlituj's Athletic Library 

keep up any pressure. They had a lead at 
half-time, but were beaten in the end, as a 
result, to my mind, of these tactics. Whether 
they were so or not, how much more satis- 
factory to have lost trying to win! 

An early lead will stiffen the defense and 
give the attack courage to be more enter- 
prising. 

So always choose the better end, if you 
win the toss. 

Then, always go off with a dash. Try to 
rush your opponents at the start. 

A good captain knows that the first few 
minutes after half-time are dangerous by 
reason of the cooling down and easing off 
caused by the five minutes interval. It is 
difficult to re-start where you left off — at 
concert pitch. A captain should never fail 
to remind her team of this at half-time, and 
exhort them to ''brace'' themselves on re- 
suming. 

To revert one moment to the choice of a 
captain. The ideal position for a captain 
is center-half, next to that is center-forward. 
The qualities w^hich go to make a good cen- 



Spald'uu/s Athletic Library J\ 

tcr-half or center-forward are just the quali- 
ties one expects to find in a good captain. 

To my mind too little is made of choosing 
a captain. An unpopular captain, whom 
circumstances rather than choice have thrust 
upon a team, is a dreadful infliction. I have 
seen good teams spoiled by an unsuitable 
captain, just as I have seen mediocre teams 
surpass themselves under an inspiring 
leader. 

Then, a team must have esprit de corps. 
This, quite simply and at its best, means that 
the whole team is of one mind about win- 
ning, intensely desiring that, and that every 
member plays for the team, nor for her own 
hand. 

Tactics are not tangible things easily put 
on paper, but I have managed to suggest a 
variety of tactics in the foregoing, and will 
here add a few more. 

The cen:er-half gets the ball with a clear 
field in front of her. If she dribbles down 
and drives her forwards in front of her she 
may put them oflfside or else ''tie" them up. 
If, however, the forwards will spread out. 



72 Spalding's Athletic Library 

drawing the defense with them and leaving 
an open space down the middle, center-half 
has a good chance of breaking through and 
scoring. This is team combination and team 
tactics of a high order, which is made im- 
possible unless all the players have imagina- 
tion. 

A proper variation of the same tactics 
might give either of the wing halves a simi- 
lar chance. 

Changing places, wing forward with in- 
side, the latter with center, requires a mu- 
tual understanding. How often does one 
see this done? or a half dropping back into 
the place of a back who has gone up-field, 
temporarily, to finish a movement she has 
begun? General combination in a team is 
rare. Forwards seldom pass to half-backs 
or the latter to backs; and yet it is often the 
only right thing to do. 

Remember this, too, for roll-in tactics and 
free hits. 

What should a captain do when the team 
is a player short? Generally speaking, play 
four forwards. Four forwards instead of 



Spalding's Athletic Library 73 

five are often very upsetting to the opposing 
defense. A good and resourceful half gets 
plenty of opportunities for joining the for- 
ward line and bringing the number up to 
five. If the opposing team is considerably 
the weaker side she may sacrifice the goal- 
keeper or one of the backs. 

Tactics should be intelligently discussed 
before a match. This lesson cannot do more 
than just touch on the fringe of a subject 
which is as exhaustless as the ingenuity of 
players. 



Spalding's Athletic Library jc^ 



Chapter IX ' 

TO CURE YOUR FAULTS 

If the foregoing lessons have been prop- 
erly digested there would be little need for 
the present one. But that is too much to 
expect. So I shall attempt to bring to- 
gether in this lesson the faults to which 
players are most prone, and, in addition, the 
illegalities which do so much to spoil the 
game. With this lesson in mind, I have 
specially noticed the worst and commonest 
faults and illegalities. 

After a ^'county" match one day, in which 
the hockey was crude and unsatisfactory, an 
old International player remarked to me: 
''Isn't it dreadful?" Remembering how 
these counties used to play, I had to agree 
that it was, tapping my forehead at the 
same time to imply the reason — namely, 
want of head, want of thought. 



76 SpalditK/s Athletic Library 

Yes ; want of thought is the cause of much 
of the bad play, faults and illegalities. And 
a second cause is like unto it — ignorance of 
the rules. Neither of them is ineradicable. 

It is a great privilege to be well coached, 
but good coaching can never take the place 
of individual thinking. Here is a good 
maxim for you : 'Think before you hit." 

Now I will tell you what I observed at 
that county match, not once, but time and 
again. After robbing an opponent of the 
ball the player, a half-back, say, would hur- 
riedly hit it in the direction of the opposite 
goal, that is, into the middle of the ground. 
By chance the ball might reach a friend; 
much more often it went straight to a foe. 
To me, looking on, three things were clear. 
There was no need for acting hurriedly, for 
no opponent was worrying her ; there was an 
absolutely unmarked forward on the left, 
the forward for a pass; there were a couple 
of opponents in the middle between the half- 
back and her own forwards expecting the 
ball to come that way and ready to inter- 
cept it. If these things were so obvious to 



Spaldiiu/s Athletic Library 77 

an onlooker, why were they obscured from 
the player herself? Because she used neither 
her wits nor her eyes. 

After getting possession of the ball and 
clear of any opposition she ought to have 
looked up to see where the unmarked for- 
ward was, for there generally is one. If 
she could not see one, that would probably 
mean that she herself was unmarked. That 
being so, the right policy was for her to 
dribble on until she had drawn one of the 
defense on to herself. Then, and not be- 
fore, was the time for a pass. 

This is, I am sure, the commonest fault in 
ladies' hockey — hitting the ball to an oppo- 
nent. 

And then I observed the painful monot- 
ony with which players kept doing the same 
thing, the obvious thing. Thus outside-left 
would run down to a certain point, stop, 
draw the ball back to her with reversed 
stick, and center. The opposing backs soon 
became aware of her tactics and were there 
every time to intercept the ball. She shaped 
so obviously to do a certain thing, that, un- 



78 SpaldirK/s Athletic Library 

less she did something else, which she never 
did, opponents could not fail to be prepared 
for it. 

Now one of the arts of hockey is deception 
— springing a surprise on your opponents. 
Shape to do one thing, and actually do an- 
other. Keep your opponents ever in doubt 
as to what you will do next. 

Wing forwards are always more liable to 
get into a rut than anyone else. Do try 
to vary your procedure. 

A common remark of touch-line critics 
and selection committees is that ''the mark- 
ing was bad." This is, no doubt, one of the 
worst collective faults a team can have. 

In the county match referred to it was all 
too evident. 

Remember, that even one player who neg- 
lects to mark can upset the whole team. 

Other faults I noted were the careless, 
hurried way free hits were taken; the per- 
fectly suicidal way forwards began to pass 
on reaching the circle; the reprehensible 
habit of hitting out of play when pressed. 



Spalding s Athlelic Library 79 

Then I noted the position of the backs 
in attack. In one team the two backs were 
standing 10 yards short of the half-way line 
when their own forwards were in the cir- 
cle! They should have been at least 20 
yards further up the field. 

The forwards let the ball get too far 
ahead of them, passed for the sake of pass- 
ing, delayed their shots till hampered by op- 
ponents. One wing player often got down 
to the circle, but always made a mess of the 
shooting, because she had such a bad style 
of hitting, with 6 inches of daylight between 
her two hands. It was practically one- 
handed shooting. 

But I do not wish to fasten any more 
faults on to one poor county match, so will 
here break away and be more general. 

Much bad fielding is due to advancing the 
stick to meet the ball instead of drawing it 
in. In catching the ball at lacrosse or cricket 
the crosse and the hands '^give^' as the ball 
meets them. Otherwise, the ball would 
jump out. So it is in fielding at hockey. 
Unless there is this ^'give," this in-drawing 



8o SpaldirKj's Athletic Library 

of the stick, with, perhaps, a little relaxing 
of the grip, the ball will rebound or glance 
off the stick out of reach. Then it is easier 
to field with the stick upright. A very safe 
method of fielding is to lay the stick up the 
inside of ankle and knee with the foot 
turned out. 

I noticed a player trying to field the other 
day by bringing her stick down hatchet-wise 
as the ball passed. Needless to say, she in- 
tercepted it this way about once in ten. For 
accurate fielding the stick must meet the 
ball down the line of its flight. 

Another player consulted me about her 
very unsatisfactory reverse stroke, which 
had neither pace nor accuracy. After watch- 
ing her play it a few times I saw at once 
what was wrong. First of all she was play- 
ing the ball too far in front of her and so 
using only the point of the stick. 

It must be obvious to anyone who reflects 
for a moment that the nearer you are to the 
ball the more upright the stick will be, and 
the more upright the stick the more blade 
will you be able to present to the ball, and, 



Spal ding's Athletic Library 8 1 

therefore, the more easily will you hit it 
and the more power will you get into the 
shot. 

If the ball is hit when 2 inches or 3 inches 
in front of the right toe the stick will be at 
almost the same angle as for an ordinary 
hit. Test this for yourself and see. 

Her second fault was the way she held the 
stick. After reversing the stick she twisted 
her right hand round it from right to left 
till it was uncomfortable to twist it any fur- 
ther. The result, a very awkward hit, in- 
stead of the flick which a reverse stroke 
should be. 

Now let me explain how the stick should 
be held for the reverse stroke. The hands 
should be in exactly the same position as 
they would be if the stick were not reversed. 

Test this as follows: Take up the stick 
for an ordinary drive and observe the posi- 
tion of your hands; reverse the stick and 
grip it in the ordinary way. That is, the 
grip for the reverse stroke. I have seen 
players move the left hand below the right, 
but that takes time and is right only in the 



Sz SpaJditu/s Athletic T/ihrary 

case of a left-handed or ambidextrous 
player. 

I am more convinced than ever that one 
of the very worst faults in ladies' hockey, 
one that does more harm than any other, 
cramping the game, doing physical harm to 
the player, and preventing her full enjoy- 
ment of hockey, is the use of a too heavy 
stick. 

It is the easiest fault of all to cure, and 
yet the most difficult. Let me explain this 
seeming paradox. It is an easy matter to 
buy a lighter stick, but a most difficult one 
to convince players of the need to do so. 
Players are most obstinate about this. They 
will not believe that they would do better 
with a 20 ounce stick than with the 22 ounce 
they have always used. 

A great deal of the bad, slow, faulty 
shooting is due to heavy sticks. The maxi 
mum limit for any forward should be 2C 
ounces, and that is probably too heavy. 

Coming to illegalities, the chief and worst 
are: turning on the ball; tackling an oppo- 
nent on her left so as to obstruct her; ofif- 
side. 



SpalJituj's Athletic Library 83 

Ignorance of the rules and lax umpiring 
are the causes. 

Let me briefly explain "turning on the 
ball." When two players are facing one 
another each with her back towards her own 
goal, and with the ball between them, and 
one of them then turns so as to present her 
back to her opponent and be between the 
latter and the ball, that is "turning on the 
ball," in a word, obstruction. It is equally 
obstruction to put leg or foot between op- 
ponent and ball. 

Tackling on the left is an illegality when 
the tackling player touches her opponent 
before she touches the ball. 

As to off-side, remember this, you cannot 
possibly get off-side if you were on-side 
when the ball was last hit. Equally you 
cannot get on-side if you were off-side when 
the ball was last hit. Nothing can ever 
justify a player in hanging off-side. It is 
the worst breach of the rules there is, for, 
if undetected, it confers the greatest ad- 
vantage. 

My final word of advice is: Stiirly the 

rules. 



84 Spalding's Athletic Library 



The following chapter, "A Plan for the Organization of 
Hockey^" has been written by Miss Marie L. Cams, In- 
structor in the Physical Education Department of the 
University of Wisconsin. Miss Cams, who is a gradu- 
ate of the Department of Hygiene of Wellesley College, 
has recently been coaching hockey at the University of 
Wisconsin and the plan outlined in her chapter repre- 
sents the scheme which has evolved through many 
years of experimentation with the hockey problem in this 
University, where the greatest effort has been made to 
give a large number of girls the most adequate instruc- 
tion and the best opportunity for team play which is 
possible in a limited space of time. — Publishers. 



A PLAN FOR THE ORGANIZATION 

OF HOCKEY 

By Marie L. Carns 

The plan of organization which is out- 
lined here is particularly applicable to col- 
lege work, but it may furnish suggestions 
which will be useful for hockey in second- 
ary schools, clubs and other organizations. 
In order to make this plan as clear as pos- 
sible, a concrete example will be given. 

Suppose there are 350 girls enrolled in 
hockey, 150 of whom are Freshmen. The 
majority of the Freshmen have never known 
anything of the game before. The hockey 



S pal dingus Athletic Library 85 

season lasts seven weeks. The first three 
weeks are spent in practise, each girl re- 
porting three times a week, and, so far as 
possible, in her own class section. It will 
be necessary to have about three sections to 
accommodate the Freshmen, two to accom- 
modate the Sophomores, and one for each 
the Juniors and Seniors. In this case, I am 
assuming two hockey fields, and additional 
space for practising strokes, so that about 
sixty may be enrolled to each station. Of 
course, if the time may be arranged, it will 
be preferable to have more sections with 
fewer girls in each section. 

EXPLAXATIOX OF FUNDAMEXTALS 

Those who do not know hockey should 
have the fundamentals of the game ex- 
plained to them before they are put on the 
field. This explanation may be advantage- 
ously supplemented by a demonstration on 
a cork board representing a hockey field. 
On this board glass thumb tacks, painted 
red and green to represent the two teams, are 
placed in such a way as to illustrate differ- 



86 Spalding's Athletic Library 

ent formations. Each student may be given 
a mimeographed sheet on which are listed 
the most important rules, as for example, an 
explanation of ''sticks," "free hit," ''roll in," 
"corner," etc. Each one should also be urged 
to buy Spalding rules, but we find that many 
times girls read these sheets when they 
would not make the effort to buy a rule 
book. Also, on rainy days, the indoor period 
may be spent on a discussion of the play in 
the various positions and an opportunity 
given for questions. With the Freshmen a 
short written "quiz" on rules may also be 
given, so that they will realize that it is im- 
portant that they be "up" on them. 

Next they are given practise in elemental 
strokes. With a season which lasts only 
seven weeks it seems impossible to spend 
more than two periods on this preliminary 
work, but of course it would be desirable to 
have a great deal more of it and this should 
certainly be done if time permits. They 
now play practise games and in these games 
the players wear colored streamers. For ex- 
ample, the colors may be green and yellow 



Spalding' s Athletic Library 87 

for the two different teams. The forward 
line wears a dark shade and the half back 
line a light shade. We believe that this 
scheme is less confusing for beginners than 
that of using different colors for the for- 
wards and halves on the same team, as is so 
often done. Another possible device is that 
of painting the lower portion of the sticks, 
half of them red below the winding and 
half of them blue. This device makes it 
easier, in a close scrimmage around the goal, 
for the players to identify each other and 
for the umpire to tell whose stick last 
touched the ball before it went over the goal 
line. Of course, the streamers also may be 
used, to differentiate the forwards and 

halves. ^ 

Choosixg the Squads 

After three weeks, the squads are chosen. 
Each squad includes about thirty girls. If 
the institution has a professional course in 
physical education, the students who are 
majoring in this work may be used as assist- 
ants at each practise. A valuable device is 
a card catalog system, in which a separate 



88 Spa/Ji/u/'s .llhli'tic Lihrdvy 

card is filed for each girl, giving her name, 
class and the position she plays. The cards 
are arranged alphahetically, according to 
classes. After each practise, comments con- 
cerning the abiliiy of the girl in her position 
are entered on these cards. These comments 
are made by the student assistants from the 
prolessional course, the instructors, aiui by 
the upper class managers, girls elec.ed the 
previous season. This method greatly facili- 
tates the choosing of the scjuads, and makes 
it much less probable that promising ma- 
terial will be overlooked. 

Choosing tiik Tkaats 

The following week the lirst and second 
teams are chosen. The lirst team is chosen 
from the scjuad and ificludes about (if teen 
players. The second team is comprised of 
girls who are just a little below squad ma- 
terial. In this case, the Woman's Athletic 
Association operates on a point system arid 
a girl is awardeci loo points the lirst time she 
makes a lirst team, and 50 points for each 
subseijuent time. Making the S(]uad gives 



Spalding's Athletic Library 89 

her 25 points, and the second team 15 points. 
The scholastic standing of each girl is looked 
up before she is put on any of these teams, 
and any girl who is on probation or has any 
incomplete work is ineligible. Each girl 
who makes squad or first team is given also 
an additional heart examination. No girl 
is allowed to play hockey at all whose health 
grade from her medical examination is be- 
low ''b," unless she has special permission 
from the clinic. Every girl about whom 
there is the slightest question is required to 
take an additional medical examination be- 
fore going into competitive games. All on 
these teams observe training rules which are 
drawn up by the Women's Athletic Associa- 
tion. 

When these teams are selected, there are 
still about 180 girls left. We feel that these 
girls who are not naturally so athletically 
inclined are just the ones who especially 
need those benefits which are to be derived 
from group contests. So eight "color" teams 
are organized, regardless of class, each with 
its captain. These teams are arranged as 



90 Spalduu/s Athletic Library 

evenly as possible, taking into consideration 
the positions of the players and their relative 
skill. The color teams then have a tourna- 
ment, the games being run off as "double 
headers" late in the afternoon, in order to 
minimize the conflicts with other classes. 

Match Games 

The last two weeks are spent entirely in 
match games. Each girl, then, it is evident, 
is a member of some team, and does not feel 
that just because she did not make first or 
second team, that she is "out of it" for the 
rest of the season. Too often there is a 
tendency toward the last of the season for 
the instructor to give all of her time to work- 
ing up the first teams, to the detriment of 
the girl who is not a "natural born" athlete 
but who needs even more the invigorating 
and wholesome effects of group competition. 

Each class, then, is represented by three 
teams, and there is a series of inter-first, 
inter-squad and inter-second team games. 
Each class plays every other class in that 
group. In the color tournament, due to the 



Spaldincjs Athletic Library 91 

limitation of time in a seven weeks season, 
each of the eight teams cannot play each of 
the others, but everyone may have at least 
four match games. At the end of the sea- 
son, a Varsity team, w^hich is honorary only, 
is chosen from the first teams, and the sea- 
son ends with a spread for all those who 
came out for hockey at which 'varsity is an- 
nounced and the class managers elected for 
the following year. 

An explanatory diagram showing the 
arrangement of groups in accordance with 
the foregoing article will be found on fol- 
lowing page. 



c 










Color Teams 










r 








o c S >, 


\ 




s 








1-1 J° w 


V 












< 


/■ 


Senior 

Squad 

;30 players 


/ 


M 


\ 
















o 


r 


Junior 

Second 

Team 

15 players 










I 






\ 




s 








Junior 
First Team 
(15 players) 


^ 


N 






y 




Z 




Junior 

Squad 

SOplayers 


/ 










o 














I '^ 


■ 


Sophomore 
Second 
Team 

(15 players) 


\/ 


K 


o 
S 
o 






^1 






D o 

O e 














Sophomore 
First Team 
(15 players) 






I 






Sophomore 

Squad 
(30 players) 


A 




o 
"a. 






O c 








2- 


















< 

< 




Freshman 

Second Team 

(15 players) 






c 

i 
























i^ 




\ 


( 


1 






K 






) 






S 






Freshman Squad 
(30 players) 


^ y/^ 


qS 


Freshman 
First Team 
(15 players) 














< 




V_ 


c 
1 






Q 






J 


y 



CO 



SpalditK/s Athletic Library 93 

EXPLANATION 

1. lilach class has general practise in class sections for 
three weeks. 

2. (a) The thirty best players from each class are 
chosen for the class squad ; the fifteen next best 
players are chosen for the class second team. 

(b) Those who are on neither squad nor second 
team are arranged on color teams, irrespective of 
class. 

3. After two weeks of squad practise, the fifteen best 
players on the squad are chosen for the first team 
and the remaining fifteen are organized into a squad 
team. 

The last two weeks are spent in competitive games, 
which are arranged as follows: 

Inter-First Team Inter-Squad Inter-Second Team 



Games 




Games Games 




2. 


Junior — Freshman. 
Senior — Sophomore. 




3. 
4- 
S- 
6. 


Junior — Sophomore. 
Senior — Freshman. 
Freshman — Sophomore. 
Junior — Senior. 


This makes 


a 


series of 18 games. 
Color Tournament i 



1. Black — Purple. 

2. Pink— Blue. 

3. Lavender — Yellow. 

4. Green — Red, etc. 



94 Spalding's Athletic Library 



GLOSSARY 

Attacking Tcdni — V\\ii ^roup of players which is carry- 
ing the ball into its opponent's territory in the ef- 
fort to make a goal. 

Bully — The act of putting the ball into pla\' by two 
opponents, who stand squarely facing the side lines 
with the ball between them. Each then taps the 
ground with her stick, on the right side of the 
ball, and then her opponent's stick, three times 
alternately, after which each is at liberty to put 
the ball into play. 

Carrier — A free hit awarded the attacking team when 
the ball glances off or is unintentionally sent be- 
hind the goal line by any pla>'er of the defending 
team behind the 25 yard line. It is taken on the 
goal or side line within [^ >ards of the nearest 
corner, and usually by a half-back or wing. All 
the players of the defending team must be behind 
their goal line and all the remaining players of 
the attacking team outside the striking circle. 

Defending Team — The group of players which is in its 
own territory and is attempting to defend its goal 
against the opposing team. 

Dribbling — The act of sending the ball along by a 
series of short strokes which keep it in motion 
within the control of the player. 

Free Hit — A hit awarded to the opponent on the spot 
where a certain foul has occurred and in which 
no other player is allowed to stand w ithin S \ards 
of the player striking the hall. 



Spaldin(/s Athletic Library 95 

Off-side — When a player hits or rolls in the ball, any 
other player is off-side if she fulfills three condi- 
tions : 

(a) If she is in her opponent's half of the field. 
(h) If she is nearer her opponent's goal line 

than the striker or roller-in. 

(c) If there are not three of her opponents 

nearer their goal line than she. 

'Inhere is no penalty for merely standing in an 

"off-side" position, but only if the player when in 

such position gains any advantage or plays the ball. 

Penalty Bully — A penalty imposed upon the defending 
team for a wilful violation of the rules within 
the striking circle, or when a goal would most 
probably have been scored except for the occur- 
rence of the foul. It is seldom imposed and is 
played off in accordance with specified rules. 

Penalty Corner — A free hit which differs from the cor- 
ner hit only in that it may be taken from any point 
on the goal line farther than 10 yards from the 
nearest gfjal post. It is awarded to the attacking 
team when the defending team intentionally sends 
the ball behind the goal line, makes "sticks" in the 
striking circle, or unintentionally commits any 
foul in the striking circle when a goal would not 
have been made. 

Roll-in — The act by which the ball is put into play 
after it has gone out of bounds over the side line. 
It is rolled in by hand from the point at which 
it crossed the line, and by one of the team opptjsite 
to that of the player who last touched it. 

"Sticks" — The name given to the ff)ul which occurs 
when any part of the stick rises above the pla\'er's 
shoulders, either at the beginning or end of the 
stroke. 



THESPALDING 



TRADEMARK 



OUTFITS FOR 
GIRLS' SCHOOLS 
AND CAMPS 

We are prepared to furnish 
complete equipment for girls' 
gymnasium wear, suits for all field 
pastimes and commencement out- 
fits. Made in our own sanitary 
factory, under wholesome condi- 
tions, combined with prompt and 
careful attention to all orders, 
render Spalding service peculiarly 
fitted for this class of work. 

A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



PROMPT ATTENTION GIVEN TO 
ANY COMMUNICATIONS. 
• AODRESSED TO US ' 



A. G. SPALDING &, BROS. 

STORES IN AbL LARGE 'CITIES 



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StVTHESPALDING 



. QUALITY 



SPALDING 

FIELD HOCKEY 

STICKS 

No. 2-A. Head of fine grained 
selected oak. Handle spliced to 
reduce risk of breakage, and 
built up of strips of rattan cane, 
with strip of pure Para rubber 
intersecting to prevent stinging 
of the hands. 

"Applebee OO" Regulation Stick 

No. 2S. Ash head, with bulge 
back of striking surface, rattan 
cane handle, with whipping. 
Finest material and workmanship 
throughout. 

"Applebee O" Regulation Stick 

No. 2B. Plain ash, turned knob, 
w^ound w^ith tw^ine. 



Spalding 
No. 1. Plain 
scored handle. 



"Club" Stick 

ash, turned knob. 




No. 2B 



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Spalding Field Hockey Balls 



No. 7. " Grand Prix " Ball as used by best 

players in England. 
With two coats special elastic white enamel. 

Per ball, extra, 
No. B. Seamless, white enameled leather 
cover ; excellent quality. 
No. C. Rubber Cover Composition Ball ; superior quality. 

Spalding Regulation Field Hockey Goals 

No. 2o Heavy japanned tub- 
ing frame, with tarred nets 
complete, so that goal may 
be set up quickly and taken 
down just as readily. 



Field Hockey Shin Guards 

No. F. Canvas. With ankle protectors. 
No. 40. Leather. With ankle protectors. 

Spalding Field Hockey Gloves 

No. P. Made skeleton style. Fingers and 
thumb well protected with rubber. 





Nj. f 



Rubber Ring Finger Protection 

No. R. Pure gum ring. Will fit any stick, and 
prevent opponent's stick from slipping up and 
injuring the fingers. 




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ADOBESSED TO US 



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Spalding Playground Apparatus 



"SAFETY FIRST" 

Why is it that a majority of the 
world's playgrounds are equipped 
with Spalding AU-Steel Apparatus ? 

Why is it that a demand created ten 
years back grows greater in pro- 
portion w^ith each new year's need ? 

Why is it that the Spalding repu- 
tation for Quality retains its position 
of eminence — unapproached ? 

Satisfaction begets confidence — confidence begets 
business. Quantity production lowers nic*nufacturing 
costs, and the finest plant of its kind in the world 
reduces Spalding manufacture to a science. 

A. G. SPALDING & BROS., Inc. 

Gymnasium Factory 

CHICOPEE, MASS. 



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^o be a good hocJ^ey player, 
a good hockey stick is half 
the battle. 

I have carefully selected Spalding's 
Imported Hockey Sticks from 
among the various makes of Eng- 
lish Hockey Sticks, and am con- 
fident that they are the best sticks 
procurable from England, and are 
used by many of the famous Eng- 
lish players. 

Further, they are a far higher grade 
of stick than is usually sold for the 
same price in the United States. 



Cd^l^r 



"tr^ 



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OFFICIAL 

For more than forty years 
Spalding Athletic Goods 
have been the standard 
by which Quality is judged 

"Just as good " is never just 
the same 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS =n 




CD A T n 

^yile^ a/ndtlnrmen 

In addition to implements for 
athletic sport of every description, 
A. G. Spalding & Bros, are also 
equipped to supply uniforms — 
made in their own 
factory — for women's 
colleges and schools, 
athletic teams and 
girls' camps. 

For prices and in- 
formation, address^ 



A.G. SPALDING 3c BROS 



523 Fifth Avenue 

NEW YORK 

211 South State Street 
CHICAGO 

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